Not only are the companies behind the acronym GRANOLAS showing their quality now, but they can also look forward to a rosy future. Analysts reckon all eleven blue chips will, without exception, grow over the next few years. Indeed, the consensus for this year is actually for consistent double-digit or even three-digit percentage growth rates in earnings per share. As things stand, AstraZeneca, Novartis and SAP are considered to have the potential to increase profits by more than 100%. Novartis and SAP have already turned heads in the first quarter: the Swiss pharmaceuticals giant, for instance, put in a surprisingly strong start to the year thanks to new drugs and is now more optimistic about the year as a whole. Meanwhile, SAP is also back on track for growth with a flourishing cloud division. Its board has not only raised the targets for this year, but recently also held out the prospect of a double-digit percentage growth in sales from 2024.<\/p>\n
All the signals are pointing to growth in the following years too. Refinitiv has indicated that the consensus among analysts is for profits of the eleven companies to increase by an average 12% in 2024. The exact same figure is also calculated for 2025. The highest average growth rates across all three years have been delivered by Novartis, AstraZeneca and SAP. After adjusting for base effects, Novo Nordisk heads the ranking with mean growth of 23.3%. The Danish insulin manufacturer even managed to be the only stock within the GRANOLAS to increase its profits consistently throughout the coronavirus crisis. It has already enjoyed a great start to the year thanks to its bestseller Wegovy, a diet medication. This has led the management team to raise its targets for the year by a considerable margin: instead of 13% to 19%, sales are expected to climb by 24% to 30%, the operating result by as much as 28% to 34%.<\/p>\n